A few months ago, if you had asked me about one-time professional learning opportunities, I would have adamantly explained that professional learning must be “sustained, intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom-focused” (Learning Forward, Definition of Professional Development). Too often I have seen schools and school districts spend money for teachers to attend workshops or two-day courses with little to show in terms of changes in teacher practice and impact on student learning after the fact. In a profession where funds are extremely limited, I have become an advocate for responsible use of resources (money, time, human, etc.) and election of professional learning opportunities that align to established goals for changing teacher practices and impacting student learning. When universities or other schools send me notice about a workshop or training, I skim it, and when it is not related to my school’s priorities (which 99% it is not), it goes into the garbage or is deleted from my inbox. A few months ago, I would have been very sure about this decision and defended it proudly and I’m not alone (see Larry Ferlazzo’s blog post with Education Week), but recently I have reconsidered this dogmatic view, I think there is a place for one-shot wonders.

The end of the school year is tough. As educators we are running on fumes. Recently, I had the fortune of attending two events at the last minute: 1) A sit-and-get workshop about teaching creativity in the classroom with the new branch of UNAB in Bogotá (AURA Creative) and 2) A talk from the leading expert on Conscious Discipline in Latin America. These two sessions gave me a second wind. I have been implementing simple strategies that I learned in these trainings and have been getting results that I might not have been getting from my students at this moment of the year otherwise. These events were not a part of my professional learning plan, in fact there was no element of these trainings in line with my belief of what professional learning should be, and yet they were just what the doctor ordered: a booster shot.

Reflecting on this experience and all that I thought I had clear about professional learning, I came upon the follow elements that made these experiences valuable:

• Choice. The end of the school year is packed with parent meetings, department meetings, reviewing data over and over again, and adjusting lessons to try and reach that one skill with that one student that is still just not getting it. My day finishes when my brain stops functioning, which usually leaves me with just enough time to make my lunch for the following day and say a few words to my husband before tucking in for the night. In summary: it’s exhausting. If my school had required that I attend one of these events, the likelihood of learning would have been close to zero. It was my decision, however, to carve out time in my schedule to attend these events – my money, my time, my resources. Therefore, you but your bottom dollar that I then made sure I put to use everything that I could as soon as possible, which meant finding the connections between the information in these sessions and my teaching. There are always takeaways – but if there is no choice, there’s less motivation to find those takeaways.
• Timing. For me the trainings gave me what I needed at a point in the year in which I really needed some inspiration. Perhaps, in another moment of the year, such as September when I was fresh and totally on top of my game I would not have honed in on the same details or been as quick to try a new strategy. It’s hard to know. The timing, however, was definitely key for me. I needed this booster.

I know there are schools out there that still only offer professional development in the form of courses, one-shot workshops and other short-term options. I also know that many schools and Directors of Professional Development think these are very valuable experiences. What other elements must be in place for a workshop or training or presentation to be transformed into a one-shot wonder? What does it take for these opportunities to truly impact teaching and learning?